Political Science 61 / Chicano/Latino Studies 64 Introduction to Race and Ethnicity in U.S. Politics HH 178 Professor Louis DeSipio Office Hours: Tuesday 2 4 pm SSPB 5283 824 1420 email: LDESIPIO@UCI.EDU Class Website: https://eee.uci.edu/13f/67150 Teaching Assistants: Kenneth Chaiprasert ken.ta.uci@gmail.com Sean Drake sdrake@uci.edu Teaching Assistant contact information and office hours will be distributed in Week One. Course Overview: From its first days, the United States has faced the dilemma of how to incorporate populations different from the majority population. This dilemma continues today and appears in discussions of such issues as affirmative action, immigration and naturalization, language policy, and social welfare policy. In this course, we will examine the major theories that attempt to explain the roles of race and ethnicity in U.S. politics and the ways in which individuals use race and ethnicity as resources for political organization. We will examine the phenomenon of ethnicity and race in the political development of the United States. Finally, we will look at the political attitudes and behaviors of ethnic and racial populations in order to measure their contemporary political influence. The course s substantive focus is the politics and experiences of specific groups: African Americans, Latinos, Native Americans, and Asian Americans. This examination and analysis will not only enhance our understanding of these groups political roles, but will demonstrate that the U.S. political system cannot be adequately understood without understanding the political dynamics of ethnicity and race. Course Readings: Readings are taken from three sources. I will ask that you read two books, several book chapters and articles posted to the class web site, and several primary source documents. The books are available at the campus bookstore and are on reserve at the library. The books are: DeSipio, Louis, and Rodolfo O. de la Garza. 1998. Making Americans, Remaking America: Immigration and Immigrant Policy. Boulder, CO: Westview Press. Segura, Gary, and Shaun Bowler. 2011. The Future is Ours: Minority Politics, Political Behavior, and the Multiracial Era of American Politics. Los Angeles: Sage, CQ Press. I will expect that you have read the assigned readings prior to the class in which they are assigned. Although I will not always make explicit reference to the assigned readings in my lectures, having
2 read them in advance will help you understand that day s topic. I encourage you to ask questions about the readings in both class and discussion section. Course Structure Class time will be primary used for lecture on the topic identified on the syllabus for that day. I will sometimes not complete one day s lecture in the allotted time and return to that topic at the beginning of the next class. Even if I do not complete the lecture, I will expect you to do the readings for the next class session prior to that class. I welcome questions during class about that day s readings or points made in lecture. I strongly encourage you to raise all questions that you have at any point. If you have questions, your classmates probably do as well. You will also have the opportunity to discuss class readings in your discussion sections. Participation in discussion section is required. As I will say later, participation in discussion section will make up 10 percent of your final grade. I will post outlines of each class on the class web site prior to each class (ideally by the evening before). These outlines are meant to be a guide to the material that I will cover in lecture, but are not a complete version of what will be said in class. While it might be tempting, I can assure you that you will not be able to replace class attendance with a careful review of the outlines. I will discuss specifics in class that will give you the evidence you need to answer essays and exams well. Course Requirements and Grading I will evaluate your performance in the class in three ways. These include: 1) two analytical essays on course readings; 2) two exams; and 3) participation in discussion section. Essays: I will assign two analytical essay questions during the semester. These questions will ask you to evaluate arguments made in course readings and, to a lesser degree, themes raised in class discussions. You will be able to answer the questions based on the course readings/class discussions and will not have to do additional research. Each essay should be between five and seven pages. The essays will be due on October 15 and December 3 and should be posted to DropBox. Prior to submitting essays to DropBox, you should submit the essays to TurnItIn.Com for review. I will provide instructions for using TurnItIn.Com prior to the due date for the first essay. Each of these essays will contribute 25 percent to your final grade for a total of 50 percent. In class Exams: Our first exam will take place in class on October 29 and the second during finals week on December 12 from 8 to 10 am. These exams will include a combination of short answer and essay questions and will cover material from both the readings and class lectures/discussions. Each exam will account for twenty percent of your final grade. Discussion Section Participation: The final 10 percent of your grade will be awarded by your teaching assistant based on your participation in discussion section. The TA will indicate how these points will be awarded in section.
3 Extra Credit: Throughout the quarter, I will bring to your attention opportunities to attend events on campus that relate to minority politics. I can t predict in advance how many of these events there will be or when they will occur (some quarters, there have only been two or three). If you hear of an event that you think might be relevant, please bring it to my attention. To earn extra credit, I will require that you attend the event and write a description of no more than one page summarizing the key points. You can earn up to one point of extra credit (1 percent of your final grade) for each of these summaries that you submit, up to a maximum of 5 points. September 26 Class Introduction and Overview Course Assignments and Reading List Part 1 Shared Foundations What Links the Politics of Contemporary Minority Communities? October 1 The Voting Rights Act of 1965 READINGS: Menard, Louis. 2013. The Color of Law: Voting Rights and the Southern Way of Life. The New Yorker, [July 8]. Posted to class web site. October 3 The Immigration and Nationality Act of 1965 READING: DeSipio and de la Garza, chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 1 59). October 8 Large Scale Immigration and the Emergence of Pan Ethnicity in Law and in Political Organizing READINGS: Segura and Bowler, chapters 1 and 2 (pp. 1 44). Part Two Citizenship Denial, Abrogation, and Reassertion October 10 The 14 th and 15 th Amendments and their Abrogation READINGS: Pinderhughes, Dianne, and Todd Shaw. Forthcoming. The African American Political Journey, 1500s 1965. Posted to the class web site. The 14 th and 15 th Amendments to the Constitution Posted to the class website. October 15 Territorial Minorities and the Violation of Treaty Rights READINGS: DeSipio, Louis. Forthcoming. The Road Toward Contemporary Latino Politics, 1500s 1970s. Posted to the class website. First Analytical Essay Due by the Beginning of Class. The essay should be posted to DropBox. Before submitting the essay to DropBox, you should submit the essay to TurnItIn.Com for review. I will provide instructions for using TurnItIn before the first essay is due.
4 October 17 Immigration Restriction, Chinese Exclusion, and Contested Citizenship READING: Shaw, Todd. Forthcoming. Asian Americans. Posted to the class website. October 22 The African American, Latino, and Asian American Civil Rights Movements and the Assertion of Equal Protection of the Laws READINGS: Pinderhughes, Dianne. Forthcoming. Voting Rights in American Life. Posted to the class web site October 24 Legacies and Nationalism READINGS: DeSipio, Louis. Forthcoming. White Americans. Posted to the class web site. Malcolm X. The Ballot or the Bullet. April 3, 1964. Cleveland, OH Posted to the class web site. October 29 1 st Exam Part Three Minority Political Values, Attitudes, and Behaviors October 31 Minority Political Attitudes and Civic Participation READINGS: DeSipio, Louis. Forthcoming. Political Behavior and Representation. Posted to the class web site. November 5 Minority Electoral Participation READING: Segura and Bowler, chapters 3 5 & 7, pp. 45 114 & 139 152. November 7 Minority Voting Rates and Traditional Barriers READINGS: Segura and Bowler, chapters 6, 8 9, pp. 115 138 & 153 210. November 12 The Obama Elections and the New Meanings of Minority Politics in the United States READINGS: Lopez, Mark Hugo, and Paul Taylor. 2009. Dissecting the 2008 Electorate: Most Diverse in U.S. History. Washington, D.C.: The Pew Research Center. Posted to class web site. Asian American Justice Center, Asian and Pacific Islander American Vote, and National Asian American Survey. 2012. Behind the Numbers: Post Election Survey of Asian American and Pacific Islander Voters in 2012. Posted to the class web site. Pew Hispanic Center. 2012. An Awakened Giant: The Hispanic Electorate is Likely to Double by 2030. Posted to the class web site. November 14 Responses to a New American Electorate The New Generation of Challenges to Minority Electoral Participation READINGS: Barreto, Matt, Stephen Nuño, and Gabriel R. Sanchez. 2009. The Disproportionate Impact of Voter ID Requirements on the Electorate New Evidence from Indiana. PS [January 2009] (pp. 111 116). Posted to the class web site.
5 Part Four Policy Issues and Intergroup Cooperation: Is There a Rainbow Coalition? November 19 Minority Political Agendas READINGS: Bowler and Segura, chapter 10, pp. 211 232. Pew Research Center. 2012. 2012 American Values Survey. Sections 8 and 9 (pp. 83 102). Posted to the class web site. November 21 Redressing Past Wrongs READING: Shaw, Todd, and Toni Michelle Travis. Forthcoming. Chapter Ten. Public Policy, Education and Criminal Justice. Posted to the class web site. November 26 The Changing Face of U.S. Minority Politics: Immigrant Naturalization and Immigrant Settlement READING: DeSipio and de la Garza, chapter 3 4 (pp. 61 124). December 3 Congressional Debates on Immigration Reform and the Future of U.S. Race/Ethnic Politics READINGS: Bowler and Segura, chapter 11, pp. 233 258. DeSipio, Louis. 2011. Drawing New Lines in the Sand: Evaluating the Failure of Immigration Reforms from 2006 to the Beginning of the Obama Administration. In Kim Voss and Irene Bloemraad, eds. Rallying for Immigrant Rights: The Fight for Inclusion in 21st Century America, pp. 215 232. Berkeley, University of California Press. Posted to the class web site. Analytical Essay #2 due by the beginning of class. The essay should be posted to DropBox. Before submitting the essay to DropBox, you should submit the essay to TurnItIn.Com for review. December 5 Demographic Futures and Exam Review READINGS: Bowler and Segura, chapter 12 13 (pp. 259 285). DeSipio and de la Garza, chapter 5 (pp. 125 134). Final December 12, 8 10 am A Note on Sources: The Forthcoming readings by Shaw, Pinderhughes, Travis, and DeSipio are from a book that will be published in 2014 by Congressional Quarterly Press entitled Uneven Roads: An Introduction to U.S. Race and Ethnic Politics. The authors would appreciate any comments you have on the forthcoming chapters.